Ftp PasvApplication · Ftp

CVE-1999-0351

MEDIUM · 6.4 CVSS v2.0 Published 1999-02-01
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
73/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
FTP PASV "Pizza Thief" denial of service and unauthorized data access. Attackers can steal data by connecting to a port that was intended for use by a client.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

This is a historical vulnerability in FTP server implementations where the PASV command returns a random high port for data transfers, allowing an attacker to intercept connections to that port before the legitimate client. This enables unauthorized data access (stealing file transfers) and denial of service by occupying ports intended for client data connections.

MitigationDisable unencrypted FTP and use SFTP/FTPS instead; if legacy FTP is required, implement port validation and ensure data connection ports are not predictable or accessible to unauthorized parties.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Ftp PasvApplication
Affected:all versions

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Partial
Integrity
None
Availability
Partial

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:P

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify if FTP server with PASV support is running
    Scan the network for port 21 (FTP control port) and identify the FTP server software version using banner grabbing or network scanning tools
    Affected if An FTP server is accessible on the network and responds to FTP commands
  2. Confirm PASV mode is enabled
    Connect to the FTP server and issue the PASV command; observe the response for a high port number (typically in range 1024-65535)
    Affected if The server responds to PASV with a port address for data transfer
  3. Verify data port accessibility from untrusted networks
    Attempt to connect to the high port returned by PASV from an external or untrusted network segment
    Affected if The data port is reachable from networks other than the intended client network
  4. Check for port predictability
    Issue multiple PASV commands and compare the returned port numbers to determine if they are predictable or follow a pattern
    Affected if The returned ports are predictable or follow a sequential pattern rather than being truly random

A user is affected if they run an FTP server with PASV mode enabled and the data transfer ports are accessible from untrusted network locations.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Disable unencrypted FTP and use SFTP/FTPS instead; if legacy FTP is required, implement port validation and ensure data connection ports are not predictable or accessible to unauthorized parties.

Fix this in Ftp Pasv Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $890
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-1999-0351 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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